The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5)(30)

Percy leaned on his sword. ‘I’m pretty sure death matches weren’t an Olympic sport.’

‘Well, they are today,’ Hazel warned. ‘But I might be able to give us an edge. When we pass through, I could raise some obstacles on the field – hiding places to buy us some time.’

Frank frowned. ‘You mean like on the Field of Mars – trenches, tunnels, that kind of thing? You can do that with the Mist?’

‘I think so,’ Hazel said. ‘Nike would probably like to see an obstacle course. I can play her expectations against her. But it would be more than that. I can use any subterranean gateway – even this arch – to access the Labyrinth. I can raise part of the Labyrinth to the surface.’

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’ Percy made a time-out sign. ‘The Labyrinth is bad. We discussed this.’

‘Hazel, he’s right.’ Leo remembered all too well how she’d led him through the illusionary maze in the House of Hades. They’d almost died about every six feet. ‘I mean, I know you’re good with magic. But we’ve already got four screaming Nikettes to worry about –’

‘You’ll have to trust me,’ she said. ‘We’ve only got a couple of minutes now. When we pass through the arch, I can at least manipulate the playing field to our advantage.’

Percy exhaled through his nose. ‘Twice now, I’ve been forced to fight in stadiums – once in Rome, and before that in the Labyrinth. I hate playing games for people’s amusement.’

‘We all do,’ Hazel said. ‘But we have to put Nike off guard. We’ll pretend to fight until we can neutralize those Nikettes – ugh, that’s an awful name. Then we subdue Nike, like Juno said.’

‘Makes sense,’ Frank agreed. ‘You felt how powerful Nike was, trying to put us at each other’s throats. If she’s sending out those vibes to all the Greeks and Romans, there’s no way we’ll be able to prevent a war. We’ve got to get her under control.’

‘And how do we do that?’ Percy asked. ‘Bonk her on the head and stuff her in a sack?’

Leo’s mental gears started to turn.

‘Actually,’ he said, ‘you’re not far off. Uncle Leo brought some toys for all you good little demigods.’

XII

Leo

TWO MINUTES WASN’T NEARLY ENOUGH TIME.

Leo hoped he’d given everybody the right gadgets and adequately explained what all the buttons did. Otherwise things would get ugly.

While he was lecturing Frank and Percy on Archimedean mechanics, Hazel stared at the stone archway and muttered under her breath.

Nothing seemed to change in the big grassy field beyond, but Leo was sure Hazel had some Mistalicious tricks up her sleeve.

He was just explaining to Frank how to avoid getting decapitated by his own Archimedes sphere when the sound of trumpets echoed through the stadium. Nike’s chariot appeared on the field, the Nikettes arrayed in front of her with their spears and laurels raised.

‘Begin!’ the goddess bellowed.

Percy and Leo sprinted through the archway. Immediately, the field shimmered and became a maze of brick walls and trenches. They ducked behind the nearest wall and ran to the left. Back at the archway, Frank yelled, ‘Uh, die, Graecus scum!’ A poorly aimed arrow sailed over Leo’s head.

‘More vicious!’ Nike yelled. ‘Kill like you mean it!’

Leo glanced at Percy. ‘Ready?’

Percy hefted a bronze grenade. ‘I hope you labelled these right.’ He yelled, ‘Die, Romans!’ and lobbed the grenade over the wall.

BOOM! Leo couldn’t see the explosion, but the smell of buttery popcorn filled the air.

‘Oh, no!’ Hazel wailed. ‘Popcorn! Our fatal weakness!’

Frank shot another arrow over their heads. Leo and Percy scrambled to the left, ducking through a maze of walls that seemed to shift and turn on their own. Leo could still see open sky above him, but claustrophobia started to set in, making it hard for him to breathe.

Somewhere behind them, Nike yelled, ‘Try harder! That popcorn was not fatal!’

From the rumble of her chariot wheels, Leo guessed she was circling the perimeter of the field – Victory taking a victory lap.

Another grenade exploded over Percy’s and Leo’s heads. They dived into a trench as the green starburst of Greek fire singed Leo’s hair. Fortunately, Frank had aimed high enough that the blast only looked impressive.

‘Better,’ Nike called out, ‘but where is your aim? Don’t you want this circlet of leaves?’

‘I wish the river was closer,’ Percy muttered. ‘I want to drown her.’

‘Be patient, water boy.’

‘Don’t call me water boy.’

Leo pointed across the field. The walls had shifted, revealing one of the Nikettes about thirty yards away, standing with her back to them. Hazel must be doing her thing – manipulating the maze to isolate their targets.

‘I distract,’ Leo said, ‘you attack. Ready?’

Percy nodded. ‘Go.’

He dashed to the left as Leo pulled a ball-peen hammer from his tool belt and yelled, ‘Hey, Bronze Butt!’

The Nikette turned as Leo threw. His hammer clanged harmlessly off the metal lady’s chest, but she must have been annoyed. She marched towards him, raising her barbed-wire laurel wreath.